A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Chapter 1053: Indecision

Only after flying for close to half a day did everyone finally escape from the swarm of Fire Age Fireflies, and they descended onto a nearby hill to regroup.

Even though everyone had concealed their own physical auras under Su Anqian's instructions, some people were still caught by the Fire Age Fireflies during this time, and everyone else could only look on helplessly as those unfortunate individuals were incinerated by the flames of time.

Up to this point, the crisis had been avoided, but everyone still had looks of lingering fear on their faces from the close call.

At this moment, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed on his own, while Su Anqian was standing on an elevated vantage point, looking back at the distant horizon.

The vast swarm of Fire Age Fireflies was slowly flying away in that direction, and only upon seeing this did she allow herself a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens Celestial Maiden Su is familiar with the properties of these Fire Age Fireflies. Otherwise, this place may have become everyone's final resting place," Valley Master Fu said as he turned to Su Anqian with a grateful expression.

"You're far too kind, Valley Master Fu," Su Anqian replied in an indifferent manner.

"There really is peril at every turn in this pagoda. I shudder to imagine what else could possibly be waiting for us up ahead," Valley Master Fu said with a wry smile.

"Come to think of it, Fellow Daoist Shi, you were the first one to run away after spotting the swarm of Fire Age Fireflies. Could it be that you've already encountered those things before?" Su Anqian suddenly asked as she turned to Han Li.

Everyone else also turned to Han Li with accusatory looks of derision upon hearing this.

"If you knew, then why didn't you warn us, Fellow Daoist Shi? Were you trying to get all of us killed?" Jin Liu asked in a cold voice as he glowered intently at Han Li, and looks of animosity appeared on everyone else's faces as well upon hearing this.

"No, no, I only recognize those Fire Age Fireflies because I encountered them in another secret area, and I almost lost my life on that occasion," Han Li hurriedly explained as he feigned a panicked expression.

"Is that right?" Jin Liu harrumphed coldly.

"Fellow Daoist Shi just so happened to be at the very back of the group when we ran into those Fire Age Fireflies, so I suppose it makes sense that he was the first to run," Valley Master Fu said, and everyone immediately lost interest in Han Li upon hearing this.

Su Anqian's gaze lingered on Han Li for a moment longer, following which she also directed her attention elsewhere.

Han Li didn't care about how he was regarded anyway, so it suited him just fine to have everyone look down on him.

He could’ve easily taken advantage of the swarm of Fire Age Fireflies to split off from the group and go off on his own, but he chose not to do so for now. After all, he knew very little about this pagoda, so his plan was to remain with the group for some time before deciding on his next course of action.

Right at this moment, a hunch-backed elderly man stepped forward. He was an early-High Zenith cultivator and the master of a small sect, and he proposed, "Alright, let's discuss how we're going to proceed from here. Are we going to continue onward?"

At this point, only a handful of High Zenith cultivators remained in the group.

The Heavenly Water Sect originally had four High Zenith cultivators, one of whom had perished to the metal beasts on the first level, so there were only three left.

The rest of the High Zenith cultivators in the group consisted of Valley Master Gu, the Ink Fragrance Pavilion Master, the hunch-backed elderly man who had just spoken, and a brawny man with a coarse beard, amounting to a total of only seven High Zenith cultivators.

The Ink Fragrance Pavilion Master was a young woman in a pink dress by the name of Yan Ying, and there was an uneasy look on her face as she said, "Up to this point, the Eon Pagoda has been completely devoid of treasures. We've encountered nothing but peril in this place, and at this point, I think our numbers have been whittled down far too much for us to safely continue onward."

Many of the other people in the group nodded in agreement upon hearing this, including the hunch-backed elderly man.

"So are you suggesting that we turn around here?" Su Anqian asked.

"Celestial Maiden Su, the fact of the matter is that this place is far too dangerous. We were already almost completely wiped out by those metal beasts, and there's no telling what more perils beside these Fire Age Fireflies could lie beyond this point. With our powers, it would be too risky to continue," the hunch-backed elderly man said, and Su Anqian fell silent upon hearing this.

"There's no need to be so pessimistic. This is Immortal Lord Tai Sui's former cave abode, so there will surely be some treasures in here, and perhaps they're just up ahead. Those Fire Age Fireflies may be troublesome to deal with, but they're also quite easy to fool, so as long as we remain vigilant and don't end up being surrounded by them, we'll be fine.

“It wasn't easy making it this far, will you really be content with leaving without reaping any rewards?" Jin Liu asked.

At the moment, morale was at an all-time low, so if Yan Ying and the hunch-backed elderly man were to back out now, then the entire group would fall apart.

Both Yan Ying and the hunch-backed elderly man were still harboring some hopes for the Eon Pagoda, so hesitant looks immediately appeared on their faces after hearing what Jin Liu had to say.

"If we encounter those insects again, then follow my instructions on how to proceed. I believe I have a way to help us shake them off," Su Anqian said.

Yan Ying and the hunch-backed elderly man exchanged a glance with each other upon hearing this, following which the former nodded and said, "Alright, in that case, let's go in a little further before we make a decision."

"Risk and reward have always come hand in hand. This pagoda has already been sealed for countless years, and I'm sure it won't disappoint us," Jin Liu said.

"In that case, let's keep going," Su Anqian decided, and the group soon set off again.

Han Li naturally had no objections to this. If everyone had chosen to retreat here, then his plan would've been to continue onward on his own.

Hence, he rose to his feet and continued to trail along at the very back of the group.

Everyone was very disdainful of Han Li for this, but no one said anything. However, they had all decided in their hearts that if any treasures were discovered in this pagoda, then they would do everything within reason to ensure that none of it went to Han Li.

Given what had happened earlier, everyone was proceeding with a lot more caution, so they were traveling far slower than before.

After close to an hour of uneventful travel, Han Li suddenly took a subtle glance to the right, but didn't say anything.

Moments later, Su Anqian suddenly stopped in her tracks at the very front of the group, then yelled, "The Fire Age Fireflies are back! Come with me!"

After that, she immediately began flying toward the left.

Han Li was rather taken aback by the fact that she was able to detect the Fire Age Fireflies so quickly, and it told him that her spiritual sense wasn't inferior to his own by much.

Everyone hurriedly concealed their own physical auras before following along behind her, and before long, the entire group had descended onto the ground below, hiding behind a rocky hill.

Su Anqian swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a small yellow flag, which transformed into a large cloud of yellow mist that encompassed everyone, following which the cloud of mist vanished amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.

The group had only just concealed itself behind the hill when the sound of buzzing rang out in the distant sky, following which a swarm of Fire Age Fireflies that was even larger than the previous one flew rapidly over the horizon.

Everyone looked on with tense and fearful expressions as the swarm of Fire Age Fireflies flew past, but thankfully, Su Anqian's immortal treasure was able to successfully keep them hidden, and the swarm quickly flew away into the distance, much to everyone's relief.

Meanwhile, Han Li was observing the departing insect swarm with a contemplative look on his face.

This swarm and the previous one struck him with the feeling that they seemed to be on patrol.

Once the swarm had completely vanished into the distance, everyone immediately set off again.

From that point onward, they encountered several more swarms of Fire Age Fireflies, but the crisis was successfully averted each time.

After advancing for close to another day, the terrain up ahead changed once again, and a long stretch of crimson mountains appeared up ahead.

There were countless volcanoes of different sizes dotted throughout the mountains, ranging from hundreds of feet to hundreds of thousands of feet tall.

Most of the volcanoes were still active, spewing pillars of molten lava up into the air amid bursts of thunderous rumbling.

There was a dense blanket of fiery, dark red clouds in the sky, and an acrid, sulfurous odor hanging in the air. The temperatures here were several times hotter than before, and there was a vast abundance of fire-attribute spiritual qi in the entire area.

Everyone immediately picked up the pace upon seeing this, and before long, an itinerant Golden Immortal's eyes lit up as he descended upon a volcanic crater to pick up a golden rock that was giving off fiery golden light, which Han Li was able to identify as a Golden Flame Holy Stone.

Shortly thereafter, someone else found a piece of crimson jade called Profound Flame Spirit Jade, and that was quickly followed by more treasures being discovered.

......

There was a large number of precious fire-attribute materials littered throughout this area, and everyone was eager to reap the rewards.

Han Li had no interest in these materials, but he also collected some in order to blend in with everyone else.

This was the first haul of treasures that everyone had secured in the Eon Pagoda, and it provided a much-needed boost in morale. Under Su Anqian's leadership, everyone quickly arrived deep in the mountainous area.

"Look out, there are more Fire Age Fireflies coming!" Su Anqian suddenly called out.

At this point, everyone had become much more accustomed to this occurrence, and they were much calmer than before as they gathered together in an orderly fashion to conceal themselves.

Before long, an enormous swarm of Fire Age Fireflies that was over ten times the size of the initial one that they had encountered came flying in from afar, resembling a vast cloud that obscured the entire sky.

Even under the concealment of Su Anqian's immortal treasure, everyone still couldn't help but feel a little fearful.